David Bowie's Jean Genie lyrics fetch £46k at auction

Virgin Radio

9 Feb 2023, 15:30

A set of David Bowie lyrics raked in £46,000 at auction.

The handwritten lyric sheet featured the words to Jean Genie.

Bowie gave the lyric sheet for the 1972 hit to the man who set up his fan club, Neal Peters.

The sale of the lyrics took place at Omega Auctions in Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside.

Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: "We're well pleased with the price achieved for this historic set of lyrics."

The lyrics were signed and dated by Bowie himself.

It turns out that £46,000 is a veritable bargain, as handwritten Starman lyrics sold for more than £200,000.

The Starman lyrics featured handmade corrections and edits.

They were originally assessed for £40,000 for sale in Australia, but they sold for an eyewatering £203,500.

Olivier Varenne was the lucky buyer, and he is the director of acquisitions and alliances and collections at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania.

Museum owner and founder David Walsh confessed: "We got carried away and paid too much. It’ll make an appearance in the expanded library we are currently constructing, along with many other items we got carried away with and paid too much for."

Fairweather added: “We had almost unprecedented interest from around the world for this historic piece of memorabilia. We had five telephone lines in operation for the sale as well as bidders online and in the room.

"We’re very pleased with the incredible price achieved and are sure the lyrics will be rightly prized and treasured by the winning bidder."

The lyrics had previously been displayed at the V and A Museum in London as part of the institution's David Bowie collection.